Pieces on a Chessboard
by waterlily12
Summary: Kazuki was given the title of Warlord of Aurora by his late grandfather. Kazuko is a wandering warrior of Ransei. Both were oblivious of the existence their twin... until they learned of the truth. He took the responsibility of the ruler of Aurora while she wanted payback for her ruined life. Will the two unite back together? Will they be able to work together to fight their enemy?
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Just a warning, this is not going to follow the game's combat rules or... anything else except the setting and characters.**

* * *

Warriors of Ransei each belong to one of the eighteen different kingdoms:

Aurora, Ignis, Greenleaf, Fontaine, Pugilis, Violight, Avia, Viperia, Illusio, Terrera, Cragspur, Valora, Chrysalia, Yaksha, Spectra, Nixtorm, Dragnor, and Faye.

They take pride in their kingdoms and often wanted glory and thus, they challenge other kingdoms to war, wanting to prove their strength and to gain new territory.

But these wars were different from the regular ones. Not only do the warlords and warriors go into battle, they also have Pokemon assisting them along the fight, to increase their strength and ability.

Although humans and Pokemon do interact with each other in their daily activities, to have a Pokemon fighting by your side is a different story. It means that you have formed a link -or a type of deep connection- between you and that particular Pokemon. That can prove to be difficult, for not everyone can form these links with Pokemon; therefore, those who are partnered with one or more Pokemon are titled with Warrior status, gaining certain skills that only they can perform, enabling them to transcend past the human ability.

Warlords are a type of Warriors, they are the rulers of the kingdoms of Ransei in addition to having stronger Warrior skills. One kingdom may have more than one and are entitled as "Junior" Warlord, as only one may be at command, but the juniors will take over when the "Senior" Warrior is unavailable. A Warrior can gain the title of Warlord through various ways. One of the many ways to become one is to inherit it from the previous warlord, another is to fight to the top.

Most warriors usually belong to one of the eighteen kingdoms of Ransei but not all. There are also wandering warriors, who have not decide to join an army or wish to be neutral, traveling around the country. But these are rare since every kingdom needs as many warriors that they can get their hands on so when they scout down a wandering warrior, they will try to recruit - whether through peaceful means or by a show of force.

The ages vary for warriors since one cannot predict when someone is going to become one. It can range from a mere child to the old ages of adults. It all depends on the bond that humans and Pokemon form with each other. And so, not every warrior is send directly into battle. The young ones are trained until they reach the appropriate age to fight- as early as thirteen -while those who are too old to wield a weapon is stationed within the kingdom to watch over the land as well as keeping peace within the kingdom.

A kingdom's strength is dependent on their warriors, but they are all chess pieces on a board for one to conquer. If you're not strong enough, both physically and mentally, then that will be your downfall. The weak will be eliminated while the strong remains. It is only a matter of time before someone comes and gather all the chess pieces in the battlefield and present them to the Alpha.

* * *

A teenage boy sat beside a bed with a Eevee sitting at the bed's end.

The young man has brown spiky hair and ocean blue eyes. He wears a white robe and pants with blue linings. A white and black with golden linings breastplate was placed over his civilian clothes. His shoulders and arms were shield by black and gold shoulder plates and arm guards respectively. He also had the same color tassets that ran along over his pants. He also wears a red scarf with a white Pokeball icon on it and long, golden maedates in front of his head.

A look of sadness and longing took over the boy's ocean blue eyes as he watched his grandfather on his deathbed.

"Grandfather…" The young man said with grieve, taking the old man by the hand as he was sitting at the bedside. "Please don't leave…"

Eevee has his ears flopped against his head and there were tears glistening in his eyes as he silently wept in sadness.

The pale man turn his head to boy, a mix of regret and encouragement in his fading brown eyes. "Stay strong Kazuki, Eevee. Starting tomorrow, you will succeed as the new warlord of Aurora. Use all your power to protect our people from danger."

His voice was barely above a whisper and raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.

"But grandfather…" Kazuki said gently. "What if I'm not fit to rule? Eevee and you are the only family members left, we won't know what to do without you."

He slowly shook his head and a tired sigh escape his mouth. "Kazuki, may I remind you that two are not alone?"

The boy looked up in confusion while one of Eevee's ears perked up. What was his grandfather talking about? He was the only one left to raise Kazuki and Eevee when his mother died of sickness and his father had been murdered for unknown reasons.

"You were so young then," his grandfather said slowly. "maybe you have forgotten about her."

"Her?"

"There was a time where you two were inseparable." His grandfather continued, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes. "I have tried for so long to search for her after your father's death. "

Kazuki still didn't understand what his grandfather was rambling about. "Grandfather, who are you talking about?"

"My only regret," he turned back to stare into Kazuki's eyes. "is the failure to unite us back with you twin sister."

The boy's eyes dilated in shock. He didn't know that he had a sister - let alone a twin for that matter.

… or did he?

His grandfather's eyes pleaded for him to try to remember his sister for he was too tired to talk.

Kazuki's mind began spinning and flipping through the pages of his memory until he came across a very old one. The images were blurred but the voices were as clear as the bells.

_"Big Brother! Wait up!" a little girl's voice begged. "You're going too fast!"_

_There was a laugh, Kazuki's laugh. "C'mon Slowpoke, mom and dad are going to yell at us if we're late for dinner!"_

_"A-Ah!" The yelp was followed by sobbing and the running of footsteps._

That was all, his memory was cut short after that, as if something stopped it. But it was enough for him to believe that his grandfather was right. His grandfather smiled, knowing that Kazuki remembered. He muttered something else to him that made him nod.

"Be strong," his grandfather said weakly after. "you're not always alone. I'm sure she's looking for you too."

That was the last thing he heard out of the withering man for he closed his eyes and never woke up again.


	2. Chapter 2 - Warlord From Aurora

Kazuki was racing along with his Eevee through the kingdom of Aurora. It is a small rural country in the southwestern part of Ransei, lacking many warriors but populated with farmers and such. It is also home to many normal type Pokemon, but not all. There are other types, however small in number they are.

His black boots protected his feet against the part of the land that looked to be swamp-like but they are unused fields for farmers to work on. "Hey there Mr. Takashi!" He greeted loudly, waving his hand up as he ran up the marsh field onto dry land.

He faced a fellow farmer who was trekking on dry road along with a Tauros pulling a cart of farm tools.

"Morning Kazuki!" he greeted back with the tilt of his conical straw hat. "Where are you going in such a rush at this early in the day?"

"Well..." Kazuki scratched the back of his head while sadness overtook his eyes. "I just wanted t get my mind off of everything that happen till now... just for a bit."

Mr. Takashi gave him a sympathetic look and patted the boy on the shoulder. "You're still young but you can do it. Your grandfather decided to have you inherit our kingdom and I know he made a wise choice. There is no one more fit than you."

Kazuki smiled meekly, but gratefully at the encouragement, and then looked up at the sky with a few clouds drifting lazily along. "I'm going to miss him."

The elder man chuckled. "I would be so glad if my grandson turns out to be like you.

"Please, Mr. Takashi," Kazuki replied, embarrassed. "I'm not all that great."

"Nonsense!"

"Bui!" Eevee called to him, hopping onto his shoulder and nuzzling him, making Kazuki chuckle and scratch him behind the ear.

"Thanks Eevee, you're great too!" he then direct his attention back to the elder man in front of him. "I have to go, it was great talking to you!"

He ran off into the distant, back into town, where he found out that there was already trouble brewing. There were people gathered into a circle, watching a scene unfold.

As the new Warlord of Aurora, Kazuki felt obligated to settle anything within his kingdom peacefully. And so, he pushed through the crowd, only to see a timid girl facing against two men.

She looked to be around his age, wearing a white kimono with one sky blue and one darker blue sash tied around her waist along with blue and orange tassels. The skirt of the kimono was made short and a pink fabric with golden pokeball patterns layered on light blue which rested on top of white. A pink garment with the same pokeball pattern attached with golden pokeball pins and chain wrapped around her shoulders. She also wears wooden sandals and white socks that are ankle-high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes. Her long pink-brown hair is pinned up with a ribbon-styled hair ornament, also known as a kanazashi.

One of the man had brown spiky hair with a golden headgear framing his face. He wears a fur vest and light green robes underneath, leaving his chest and upper arms exposed to the sun. He had silver arm plates and brown tassets on his green pants, that ran into brown foots. His dark skin indicated too much exposure to the sun. There is a large sword strung to his back.

The other man has short, curly green hair and a yellow and white stripped headband. He wears a bronze breastplate and a yellow and white shirt underneath. He also had a blush and white stripped sash around his waist, seemingly holding up his brown trousers that were tucked into his bronze boots. Unlike the first, he does not wear arm guards; rather, he had the wrist bands, the same color and patter as his headband. He was also tan but not as deep as the first man and instead of a sword, he has a axe-like weapon.

"I-I'm so sorry!" the girl apologized in panic, bowing repeatedly while holding a Jigglypuff in her arms. "Jigglypuff didn't mean to attack your Pokemon!"

Her Jigglypuff, however, have different opinions as she glared at the Teipig and Bidoof with disdain.

"Puff!" the pink Balloon Pokemon pointed at the two accusingly. Bidoof and Tepig sneered at Jigglypuff, making her puffed out her cheeks in anger. "Jig! Jigglypuff!"

The girl tried to tell the Jigglypuff to calm down as she tried to escape the girl's grip to start another brawl with Tepig and Bidoof.

"Didn't meant it eh?" jeered the man with the darker skin tone, munching on a sitrus berry in one hand while the other rested on his waist. "That's not what your Jigglypuff is saying. If you're a warrior, then you are lacking control over your own Pokemon."

The girl was too nervous to reply, causing the two men to laugh at her mockingly.

"Hey Koroku, let's teach this girl and her Jigglypuff that she should not mess with warriors from the Ignis Kingdom." spoke the second man after the laughter, a conceited smirk on his face.

The darker skin tone man returned the smirk. "You read my mind Nagayasu." he threw away the unfinished berry and both of them call their Pokemon to battle stance.

"W-wait!" the girl tried to stop the battle from ensuing. This wasn't what she had in mind when she decided to stroll through the village. The last thing she wants is to pick a fight with someone.

_Someone please help me! _She pleaded in her head as she backed away further.

And as if Kazuki heard her call, he decided to step in. He didn't want a fight to start in the village, where the folks couldn't defend themselves against any attacks that they might pull. Aurora is a peaceful kingdom where most Pokemon and humans work and live together, they were not made to fight.

This is one of the rural area of Aurora after all, humans and Pokemon work together to make a living, not to fight.

"Stop this at once!" he commanded, prying the last of the people from his sight and stood in front of the girl with Eevee by his side. "She already apologize so just accept it and walk along!"

It took the two a full minute to recognize who the boy was and both of them looked smug. "Looks like we got squirt as the new Warlord of Aurora!" bellowed Koroku. "Are they trying to make our job easier?"

Reading the confusion on Kazuki's face, Nagayasu smirked. "I'm guessing you haven't heard if Lord Hideyoshi's proclamation. We're sent here to beat you to a pulp and take over your kingdom!"

Kazuki's face portrayed that of shock and boiling anger. He quickly snapped out of it and glared at the two Ignis warriors, and ten got into a fighting stance with his hand on the hilt of the sword adorning his side.

"Like I will hand over Aurora to the likes of you two!" he growled.

Korku chuckled smugly. "No wonder Lord Hideyoshi only sent us here. It's because we're facing off a kid! This won't even last a minute! Let's approach this with Tackle Tepig!"

The fire pig Pokemon blew flames from his snout and charged forward.

"Copy with Headbutt!" Nagayasu commanded of his Bidoof, who charged forward head first.

"Eevee, dodge with quick attack and use Shadow ball!"

Right when Bidoof and Tepig was about to collide with Eevee, he sped past them, successfully avoiding the straightforward attack. Eevee when wheeled around to attack them with Shadow ball from behind, sending the two opposing Pokemon off their feet.

Kazuki was focused on the Pokemon battle that he did not notice the offensive attack that Koroku was about to direct towards him. He had drew on the large sword behind his back, bringing it down in front of him, causing a rush of wind to the surroundings, and then charged at Kazuki with the blade parallel to the ground.

"Look out!" the girl warned loudly, seeing it coming.

Kazuki quickly jumped to attention and unsheathe his katana from its koshirae, or sword case, blocking the wide sword with it as one hand gripped onto handle and the other held the flat end on the other side of the blade.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Nagayasu making a jump with his axe held up high above his head, aiming for an assault through the air.

"Eevee, Tackle!" Kazuki grunted as he refused to budge under the force of the heavy sword while motioning his head up so that his Pokemon could follow where he was needed to aim.

"Bui!" Eevee obliged, abandoning his battle against Tepig and Bidoof and ran towards Nagayasu. Once he gained enough momentum, he jumps towards the enemy. He made contact with Nagayasu and the man was pushed out of the air, into a nearby stack of creates.

The sound of collision and screams of the villages as they panicked brough realization upon Kazuki. He was fighting in the village, where the risk of the villagers getting hurt was very high.

He put more force into his hands, pushing his opponent away from him and then called Eevee to his side.

He needed to find an open area that does not put anyone in danger.

"We need to find a better place to fight." Kazuki muttered to Eevee. He nodded in response as the boy dodged yet another blow and flipped back, starting to run.

"Come back here Coward!" Koroku shouted as he, Nagayasu and their Pokemon chased after Kazuki and Eevee.

"Tepig, Ember!" The Fire Pig Pokemon oinked and flames came out of his snout, flying towards the Aurora Warlord.

Kazuki muttered something under his breath and in response, his and Eevee's mobility became faster, almost a blur as he dodge the Ember attack.

Top Speed. The power to significantly increase one's mobility and range. It is one of the many abilities, or Warrior Skills, that warriors can obtain once a link is established between them and Pokemon. These Skills enable the human and Pokemon to gain unnatural strength while furthering combining their powers together and because of that, warriors join in on the battles to increase their chances of victory. The Skill that a warrior acquires is based on that Warrior's characteristics and the Pokemon they are linked with.

Once a warrior and their Pokemon's strength and bond increase, their Skills change, or "rank up" to match their new found powers. These rank ups are often found among the Junior and Senior Warlords. The new Warrior Skill will override the old, therefore replacing the previous one with it. However, there are certain warriors that fall outside of this circle, having the ability to retain their previous skills as well as the new one, though these are rare.

"Wha..." The enemy warriors were left dumbfounded for a split second before trying to increase their speed to chase the boy, but they came nowhere near Kazuki and Eevee's speed.

The Warlord intentional kept within their line of vision so that they do not give up the chase. Once they reached a rural land next to an abandon shack, they stopped and face towards the direction where their opponents are still trying to catch up.

"Damn you!" Koroku cursed, reeling back arms back with both hands on the hilt of his wide sword with the weapon facing perpendicular to Kazuki. "Mighty Blow!"

"Tep!" Tepig puffed out flames from his snout, and instead of being extinguished, the flames spiraled up to Koroku's sword. It was a good thing that Kazuki had lead them out of the village, or there would have been a fire.

"Adrenaline!" Nagayasu called out, allowing his axe to increase in size in relation to Bidoof's glowing outline and his enlarging front teeth in the form of Hyper Fang.

Having to have used their Warrior Skills, they aim their amplified attacks at Kazuki and Eevee.

Before the two can react to their offensive charge, Nagayasu send the axe spinning towards them like a boomerang. Kazuki and Eevee narrowly escaped, but not without injuries.

Eevee had the wind knocked out of him and Kazuki was scraping his feet in the opposite direction, clutching on his upper arm in an attempt to cover up the cut that the axe created. He tried not to wince as the axe returned to its owner's hands.

The Evolution got back up and tried to return to his partner's side but Koroku came in between while Tepig let out an Ember attack that was stronger than before. Eevee launched a Shadow Ball to counter but the flames overpowered it and burned Eevee, prompting the Evolution Pokemon to cry out in agony.

"Eevee!" Kazuki exclaimed, having to evade a swing from the flame sword and running towards his Pokemon and picking him up with one arm. "You okay buddy?"

He nodded in reply, shaking off the effect, yet part of his brown fur was charcoal black. He jumped out Kazuki's arm and into a Take Down when Bidoof made an attempt to attack from behind.

Kazuki held up his sword again, ignoring the pain in his left arm. Both he and Eevee had burning determination in their eyes, refusing to give up without a fight.

Right when the weapons were about to clash, they picked up a shout which was then by a smooth and gentle melody in the distance.

"Lullaby!"

About a quarter of a mile from them stood a girl who was bullied from before with her eyes closed, her hands clutched together in front of her. She and her Jigglypuff was singing a song in perfect harmony. The wave coming from both human and Pokemon combined together though it has different effects on the others.

While Koroku and his companions were losing their strength and consciousness to the song, Kazuki and Eevee seemed just fine. Instead of getting sleepy, both him and his Pokemon glowed faintly.

He looked at his left arm when the pain was dispersing, and then at Eevee, whose burns were slowly fading away as if it was never there.

"Sweet Song." Kazuki muttered and looked back up to the singers. He have never heard of the healing song before and it astounded him how just a simple melody was able to heal him and his Pokemon. There was also Jigglypuff's Lullaby that proved to be pretty effective towards the enemy.

A Warrior Skill is completely different from a Pokemon Ability. While a Warrior Skill boost a human and Pokemon's strengths and external senses, a Pokemon Ability can only be used by the Pokemon for the Pokemon. It is used to boost either a Pokemon's internal or external senses depending on the Pokemon. Some can heal status effects inflicted upon them while others may sharpen their attacks or gain immunity against certain types of attacks. Their Ability changes only when evolution occurs, similar to that of a Warrior's rank up. The most distinguishing feature of these two is that Warriors may use their's at will while Pokemon can only activate theirs upon meeting certain conditions and they may use it either voluntary(by the Pokemon or a command of the warrior) or involuntary.

For example, to activate Lullaby, Jigglypuff must be near an enemy and have enough time to vocalize her melody. This is one of the few that can easily meet the conditions to activate and will therefore be voluntary used when the Pokemon decides that it is needed.

The girl open her eyes and gave Kazuki a smile before resuming her singing.

The boy snapped out of his trance and command Eevee to use Quick Attack on Bidoof.

The Evolution Pokemon swiftly hits the Pimp Mouse Pokemon, and because he was already depleted of much of his energy, Bidoof was knocked into unconsciousness.

"Bui!" Eevee exclaimed, stomping a paw on the ground as his body glowed faintly.

Kazuki knew that his Pokemon has met the condition for his Celebrate Ability to activate which can only be used after Eevee has successfully defeated an opponent.

"Eevee, let's finish this!" he called, raising his katana up to eye level. "Top Speed!"

With their speed and range of attack increased once more, Eevee made quick use of his double boost, endlessly attacking with Quick Attack and Shadow Ball while Kazuki send the Ignis warriors' weapons out of their grips within seconds. Koroku did made attempts to block but drowsiness overpowered him and he plummet to the ground and snore.

Kazuki sheathed his katana while looking down at the unconscious opponents. Since they wouldn't be of any harm anymore, Kazuki have no intentions of killing them. Despite being the Warlord he is, he only kill when it was absolutely necessary.

He heard incoming footsteps and realized that the singing had stopped. He watched as the girl ran over to him with her Jigglypuff floating nearby. She bend over with a hand to her chest as she took in rapid exhausted breaths, probably from the singing and running that she did.

Eevee hopped onto Kazuki's shoulder and exchange looks with him before the girl finally caught her breath.

"I'm so sorry to have gotten you involved in my blunder!" she apologized quickly, bowing with her hands clasped in front of her.

Kazuki was taken aback by the sudden apology but recovered quickly. "I-it's fine! They were here to challenge me to a fight anyways!"

She looked up with apologetic eyes. "But still, I was the one that caused the commotion..."

"Don't beat yourself over it," Kazuki assured. "Besides, if you hadn't came in the battle as you did, I would have been in deeper trouble. So thanks... um..."

"Ah!" The girl gasped with a hand in front of her mouth and then bowed in apology once more, earning a sigh from her Jigglypuff. "I'm so sorry! I always forget to introduce myself! My name is Oichi!"

"I-it's fine Oichi... Name's Kazuki Azai..." The Aurora Warlord said, edging back slightly in response to Oichi's sudden outburst. "You don't look like you're from here, are you visiting Aurora?"

Oichi straighten back up and started to rub her arm nervously. "K-kind of, yes. I'm a wandering warrior and this is my first time here in the Aurora kingdom. It's quite the nice and peaceful place."

"Don't you know it!" Kazuki grinned proudly, with the back of his hand resting against his waist.

"Forgive me for asking," Oichi said meekly. "but are you really the new Warlord of Aurora?"

"Yep." He replied while scratching Eevee behind the ear when he started to nuzzle him. Oichi couldn't help but think of how strong he and Eevee's bond is and smile at that. She knew that she wouldn't regret her decision.

"W-well," she stuttered, averting her eyes. "since Jigglypuff and I have been journeying for a while through Ransei, I was wondering if we could stay here and join your army Lord Kazuki."

Kazuki blinked several times to process the female warrior's proposal and then exchange more glances with Eevee.

"Are you sure about that?" He inquired. "Aurora is home to mostly farmers so we don't have many soldiers and warriors for that matter. And I only become a Warlord today so I won't have any experience in being one. There isn't much benefits from it."

Oichi shook her head. "I'm positive. I like the sereneness that your kingdom gives off. I mainly specialize in healing so I may be a hindrance when it comes to combat," She then bowed yet again. "but please bear with me, Lord Kazuki."

A grin broke from his face. "In that case, welcome aboard Oichi!"

"Bui!" Eevee chirped in agreement.

Oichi and Jigglypuff were beyond happy with the acceptance and eagerly agreed. "Thank you Lord Kazuki!"

"Errm... maybe drop the formality?"

...

Later that night

...

Kazuki was sitting at his desk, with books stacked up for study and a pen racing across a piece of parchment. After finishing up what he wrote, he place the pen down to rest his hand and lean back against the chair he was sitting on.

He sighed and run a hand through his hair, and then looked at his Eevee. He couldn't help but smile at his curled up sleeping position, locating next to him yet far enough that he didn't bother Kazuki when he was writing.

Kazuki then took out something under his shirt - having the armor off of him after a day of battling came as a huge relief. In his palm was a pendant that looked to be half of a silver octagon with symbols engraved on it. At the side that faced inward, there was half of a ying yang - the ying.

It rested on the palm of his hand and then he flipped it. On the back of the pendant, his name was carved in kanji.

His face scrunched into a frown "... Where should I start, grandfather?"


	3. Chapter 3 - Wandering Warrior

Two years ago

_A young girl watches as her entire village sets on fire in the heat of the battle between two unknown armies._

_"Mom! Dad!" The brunette called out desperately. She and her Eevee raced through the village, heat transpiring rapidly as the fire grew. "Where are you?!"_

_She avoided any obstacles that was on fire and continued her way to her house. There, she found that it was near collapsing, but it didn't stop her from going in._

_Eevee, sensing the danger of her going in, tried to tug on her boots so that she wouldn't go in and get burned alive._

_"Eevee!" The brunette cried out. "I have to go in and find them!"_

_They heard a cough, followed by a weak yell. The girl immediately knew that her parents were still alive._

_"Mom! Dad! I'm coming!" She shook off Eevee's grip, rushing into the burning house. Eevee didn't want to let any harm come to the brunette and decided to follow after her. If anything happens, the Evolution Pokemon can always dig their way out._

_When the girl squeezed in the door without getting burned, she was met with a horrible sight. Both of her parents were stuck under a pile of burnt wood that had collapsed from the house._

_The girl ran over to them, trying to lift the wooden from their bodies, only to have her hands burned upon contact._

_"Ow!" She yelped in pain, jumping back and shaking her hand in pain._

_"K-Kazuko…" Her mom croaked out, seeing her daughter and Eevee in front of her. There was blood trickling down her face from where her head was hit, probably from the house falling apart._

_Her father didn't talk, as if he lost his voice. He merely stared up at the brunette with sad and hopeless eyes._

_"Hold on! I'll get you guys out of there!" Kazuko exclaimed, trying again at the wooden pile._

_Her dad shook his head though he smiled weakly at her determination._

_"Don't." was all he said before pushing a necklace towards the brunette. Kazuko knelt down, picking up the necklace that her father pushed towards her. " What is this?"_

_"Kazuko… listen to me." Her mom starts. "Before it's too late, we need to tell - cough - tell you something im-important."_

_"Too late?" Kazuko panicked. "It's not too late to save you! I just need to get these wood off of you!"_

_"D-dear," Her mom said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Listen to us… w-we're… we're not your real parents."_

_That got the brunette to stop what she was doing and look at her parents with disbelief. They're not what? __"W-what? O-of course you are! As long as I remember, you and dad were always there for me!"_

_Her dad shook his head. "Kazuko… we found you in a bundle of blankets, among dead bodies. There seemed to have been a fight and you were the only survivor."_

_"That pendant was wrapped around your wrist when we found you," Her mom continued when her husband started to cough from the smoke. "There was a name on the back… t-that's the name you have right now."_

_"T-that..." Kazuko shook her head, taking a step back. "Y-you're lying!" They have to be joking with her so that she would run out of here._

_Her mom shook her head. "It's the truth... But... we'll always love you as our own little girl. So please, forget about us and leave."_

_"No... I won't!" Kazuko said stubbornly. "I'm not going to leave without either of you!"_

_"Eevee..." Her dad started. "Get Kazuko out of here."_

_The Evolution Pokemon hesitated but knew that it was for the best. She used a Shadow Ball against the obstacle blocking the door before tackling Kazuko with all her strength, sending her flying out of the house before it collapsed completely._

_"MOM! DAD!" Kazuko cried out as she got up from her landing, a hand extended out as if she could reach her parents while she cried her heart out. Her heart was breaking apart from the lost of the only family she had and she find out that they weren't her real family? That was just impossible! Was everything about her life a complete lie then?_

_ She closed her eyes as tears from the painful truth flow relentlessly down her cheeks, wetting the dry, heated ground. __She only opened her eyes when a shadow was cast over her._

_"... Eevee," Kazuko muttered, having enough of this battle, this entire war. "Retaliate."_

_The Evolution Pokemon followed the command, swiftly taking out the man that was about to take her life with his blade. The sword flew out of his hand and planted itself right next to Kazuko._

_The brunette stood up silently, her bangs covering her eyes. She pulled the blade out, circle around, and directed the weapon at man who was trying to get up. She saw that emblem that he wore on his armor. It was a long dragon winded up into the shape of a letter 's'. _

_"You and your fights..." She seethed, her eyes burning with pure hatred. "I won't let any of you get away for ruining everything!"_

* * *

Present

The sun is up in the sky, indicating that it is past noon in the land of Ransei. It would have been a peaceful afternoon if it hadn't been for the screaming, explosions, clashes of metal upon metal that is currently taking place in the open plains that disrupted the sereneness.

The click clack for a Rapidash pulling along a cart full of hay passed by leisurely, as if ignoring all the was happening a few miles away. To travelers on the road, they were used to seeing battles between kingdoms. It was the rule that if one wants to conquer another kingdom's land. And to battle it out, the warlords, together with their warriors, lead their army out.

"Looks like a doozy," commented an elderly man in a dark blue tunic and sandy trousers with a black sash tied around his waist. He was the one steering the Rapidash while sitting in front of the cart. His conical straw hat shields his eyes from the radiating sun as he looks to his left, observing the battle. "There's been a lot more skirmishes going on hasn't it?"

The plethora of hay on the cart shifted a little as if to answer the elderly lady's question.

"Where are you heading to again Kazuko?"

There was a subtle grunt escaping from the hay as the dry grass shifts and rustle again. "Anywhere is fine, I don't stay in one particular place for too long." The voice was that of a female.

"The perks of being on the road I guess," the man chuckles. "you must have encountered a lot of people and partake in many adventures."

"Um... I guess you can say that."

"May I make a suggestion?" the old man inquired, glancing over the top of the hay without as much as inclining his head. He was met with a subtly 'sure' from the passenger on his cart.

"Have you been to Aurora?" he starts. "It's quite the small, rural yet peaceful kingdom and I recently heard that they got themselves a new warlord."

His suggestion was met with momentary silence before the voice spoke again, though it has an undertone of sourness. "I don't think I would want to go there if they just recently got a new warlord. I don't want to be _recruited_ into their army."

The old man chuckle in amusement. "You are quite the strong one for someone of your age so why would you not display it? It was thanks to you that I escape those bandits."

There was a sigh. "Really Mister, it's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" the man said dramatically, yet playfully. "You saved me and my precious Rapidash from certain doom."

A 'neigh' of agreement came from the fire horse's snout.

Silence interpose into the exchange, not the awkward silence, just the thinking kind with one end waiting for a reply while the other pondered what to say to the current topic.

Before the passenger could get the chance to reply, something came in their direction.

A Boldore screeched to a halt about two meters away from them and seem to be conjuring up massive amount of rocks in the sky.

"Braviary, intersect Superpower!" shouted a voice from above. The said flying type circle the sky for a second before tucking in his wings and diving downwards, outlined in red.

As the large lumps of earth fall from the sky, the Braviary sped pass some while deflecting others in his path. The remnants of the rocks flew in the cart's direction, though it didn't cost damage it did irritate the Rapidash greatly. He stood up on his hind legs while his front was lifted up and moving in agitation.

"Rapidash!" the elderly man exclaim, pulling on the rein to try to calm the Pokemon down.

"Double Team and follow it up by Shadow ball!"

An Eevee leaped out of the mountain of hay, multiplying herself in quick successions before a dark purple energy ball formed in front of the copies' mouth. Upon release, the multiple shadow balls aimed at both Boldore and Braviary.

The two Pokemon was hit due to surprise and recoil back, one through the air and one against the ground. A figure hopped off the cart gently, walking to the front where the Rapidash is still in the state of irritation.

The figure has the appearance of a girl of seventeen, with ocean blue eyes and long chocolate brown hair tied in a low ponytail with white and purple striped ribbon. She wore short sleeved, mini white kimono with blue linings with a pink sash tied in to a bow around the waist. A white marble breastplate over her upper body with golden linings around the edges and black on either side. On her shoulders were black and gold shoulder plates and same color patter tassets around her waist, over her skirt. Knee length boots and thigh high socks covered her legs.

Her hand, armored in black and gold, reaches out to pet the Rapidash in an attempt to calm the Fire Horse Pokemon. The effort was not in vain for the Rapidash ceases his struggle.

Kazuko smiled daintily and gave the elderly man a grateful look. "Looks like this is my stop, Mister. Thanks for the ride!"

She patted Rapidash once on the back for him to move forward at a faster pace than the man wanted. He barely had time to look back before he tried to grab a hold of his hat before it flew away and looking straight ahead so that he knows where the Fire Horse Pokemon is heading to.

Kazuko turn on her heels, seeing that Eevee has been creating dust clouds, courtesy of Sand - Attack, to hinder the enemy's sight. She really didn't want to fight right now but they provoked her and she wasn't in the mood to play nice.

The female warrior squinted through and upon seeing a shadow within the massive amount of dust, she reach over her waist for her katana. She leaned forward and sprinted into battle.

Kazuko brought her weapon over her head with both of her hands as she leaped out of the dust in an attempt to swing a heavy blow on her opponent. However, they detected her movement and a clink was heard, a typical sound created when two swords clash. She immediately knew that she was facing a human with a fast reaction time.

Her ocean blue eyes were meet with intrigued brown ones.

"Tch," Kazuko retreated back with her katana still in front of her, her feet planted firmly on the ground in a guarded position while her Eevee found and made her way over to perch on her shoulder.

The young man, around her age, wear chest plates of silver with black and gold near the top and reaching over his collar bones. His armor was covered with a sleeveless green and black collared jacket with gold linings. The black shoulder plates were barely visible under the jacket. His arms were covered in the black sleeves of a shirt with a gold line streaking vertically down until it disappeared into his long black and gold armored gloves. He also wear black thigh guards with seemingly green stitches and long black pants with golden vertical line are tucked into a pair of the same trend of black and gold suneates. His chestnut brown hair -minus the bangs that covered on of his eye- was mostly hidden under his black helmet that has a large golden crescent moon maedate adoring the front.

The sword was still in his armored hands but his gaze was that of interest and amusement mixed in with surprise.

He is standing on top of his Braviary but both aren't that far from the ground, she noted. She then noticed that the Braviary was trying to hover, doing his best as to not flex his wings as much it would needed in flight.

_Injured wing. S_he concluded.

Kazuko's eyes scan around the temporary battle field though she didn't let her gaze be strayed away to prevent any sudden attacks from the man in front of her.

"Not a wise idea to be an interloper in our fight." commented a gruff voice in a distance. Kazuko's eyes darted towards the source through the settling dust, her hands tighten their grip on her katana.

Spotting the owner, it turns out to be a middle aged man with a bulky built body, the Boldore from early is stationed slightly behind him.

The man's raven hair was held back from his face by a black headband with a golden pokeball imprinted on the front. A scar is visible on his face, running across the arch of his nose to both sides of his face.

He wears a red robe with gold linings halfway, covering half os the black and red leather armor he has underneath though the armor covered his chest, not his midriff. The dangling right side of the red robe slide behind his shoulder, but held in place by his gold and black shoulder plates, along with a red and black collared cape. The cape was held together by a gold chain across his collarbones. One of his arms is covered in red fabric while the other is in black; but they all fit into black and gold armored gloves. His black pants were held in place by ropes tied around his waist along with half of the red robe. Black and gold plates armored his legs up to the knee caps.

In one hand, the man hauled a golden hammer with a long black handle over his shoulders while his free hand went to his waist.

"You should talk," Kazuko retorted, staring at the two men sternly and sourly. "You two are interlopers to my peace by bringing the fight all the way here while your fight is a few miles off in the distance."

The younger of the two men laughed lightly as if this was a friendly banter and hopped off of his Braviary.

"She's got a point Ujiyasu!" he remarked with too much of the carefree air in this tone. He looked back to how far they have gotten off track. "We were too focus in our own little battle."

The older man growled in annoyance. "You're too blithe about this, Masamune."

The young man by the name of Masamune returned the ill-tempered warrior with a smile plastered to his face, not caring for the remarks shot in his direction. "I have no interest in a little practice match in the first place. Besides, you're the one who demanded one of me and my warriors."

Before Ujiyasu could retort back, He then turned to Kazuko with amused brown eyes. "You're an interesting one. Not many girls can pick up a sword and use it properly."

Kazuko straightened up from her stance and pointed her katana effortlessly at Masamune in one hand.

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult to my gender?" She smiled sweetly yet her tone was dangerous and dark.

Masamune took this in with a all too friendly grin, yet a knowing grin. "You can take it as a compliment but I'm indirectly insulting you."

Kazuko glared at the young man for the response. If she had her way, he would be kneeling down before her within seconds, but she doesn't like taking advantages of someone with a handicap. And in this case, it was Braviary's damaged wing.

_Does he even notice his Pokemon's condition? _Kazuko berated mentally.

"Hey Ujiyasu, how about we call this a tie for now?" Masamune offered to his supposed ally.

The older man sighed in exasperation and wheel around, with his back to the young warrior. "You need to start taking politics seriously, especially at war. You'll never know when I'll break the alliance between us and invade your kingdom."

"I highly doubt that you will since our alliance gone far back in the years," Masamune called after Ujiyasu, who he started to walk away. "And you should loosen up a little! It'll do you some good!"

Kazuko was baffled by what was exchanged between the two warriors, but she deduced one thing out of all of it. These two that she was facing were Warlords of different kingdoms and her gut feeling was telling her to distance away from them as far as possible before they find out that she is a wondering warrior.

"Say..." Masamune started, observing the brunette with a hand on his chin and his other one resting on his waist. "Which kingdom are you from? I don't see many warriors traveling alone out here, especially with an Eevee. They're pretty rare throughout Ransei."

Kazuko rubbed her temples for she wanted to avoid this matter as much as possible. "That is none of your business." she snapped, turning her back to him but looked slightly over her shoulder to add something more. "And you should treat that Braviary of yours before it gets worst."

With that as her last words, she walked away, into the distance where the old man and his Rapidash was heading for. She mutter something under her breath and in an instance, she speeds off into a blur with Eevee in tow.

"She's observant too," the young warrior mused and then pat his Braviary on the forehead while inspecting his wing. "I didn't think the battle was too serious that it would bother your wing that much..."

"Brav!" the Braviary put forth a look of reassurance and flap both of his wings, only to jerk his left wing back and grimace.

"Whoa there!" Masamune said with a slight chuckle while calming his Pokemon with his hands up. "I know you're trying to tell me not to worry but rest your wing okay? It still hasn't heal properly for the past two days of the travel."

He then sigh and took off his black headgear and press it against his side with his arm. His other hand went up to run through the chestnut brown hair of his perspired head. "Let's continue our way back to Avia to get you proper treatment. That negotiation with Nō didn't go as well as I expected..." he shivered at the remembrance of what happened in the Spectra Kingdom.

"Lord Masamune!" chimed the combination of two different pitches together. Each one the exact opposite of the scale, indicating it being one man and one woman.

At the call of his name, Masamune looked over his shoulder to see two of his warriors running to him, with looks of exhaustion and concern.

The female was clad in pink and white, with no visible armor of any kind except for hand guards. Her chocolate brown hair was long and tied into a lose, low ponytail with a white ribbon; a white headband was covering her forehead, soaking up any perspiration that might fall down her face.

The male was clad in full brown and gold armor with a orange-red vest-like garment over the armor, with the color propped up; the back stretched to become a makeshift cape. His raven hair was mostly covered by the helmet he wore.

"Are you alright?" the female queried in concern, her Emolga hovering well above her shoulder. "Lord Ujiyasu told us to cease our battle and to check on you, did something happen?"

"I saw someone here with you," the male commented, a serious look on his face while Staravia circled above them on the lookout for potential danger. "Who was he and is he an enemy?"

Masamune blinked and couldn't help but laugh at his warriors' concern for him. The two looked at him with puzzlement, having no idea as to why their Warlord was laughing.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," He replied after a while, tackling the female warrior's question first. "don't be fretting over something that Ujiyasu said, Iroha. And Shigezane, the correct pronoun is _she._"

"What?!" Shigezane exclaimed in shock. "So you made enemies with a _woman?!_ Did you let her defeat you as well?!"

Iroha, having to feel offended by his tone at the word, smacked Shigezane on the back of his head. Despite the helmet protecting his skull, it still hurts.

"You got a problem with female fighters?" she said menacingly, slowly drawing on her sword.

Masamune enjoyed the small altercation that his warriors are making but he needed to break this up and get going. "Now now, there's no need to argue over something like this. I haven't made enemy with that girl yet... at least I don't think so. It was me and Ujiyasu who provoked her by almost dragging along a traveling farmer and herself into our fight." So it was only logical for her to defend herself."

Iroha narrowed her beady black eyes suspiciously to the Avia Warlord and leaned in. "You seem rather... happy about that."

Masamune smirked tauntingly. "I'm just thinking that she might be even better than you."

"WHAT?!" the female sword wielder fumed.

"Annyyyways," the Warlord said with a causal lean against Shigezane's shoulder with his elbow, cutting Iroha short of her fuse. "Let's head back to Avia. Braviary need his wing to be properly treated."

...

Kazuko leaned against the tree that she is currently sitting on, over looking the next kingdom over, Violight. It's a kingdom of lights, seeing how the kingdom lights up beyond the walls.

She had been speeding up her travel so much that she didn't notice how far she has gotten - the perks of having the ability to speed up. She took out the pendant from under her clothes and gaze at it. It was half of a silver octagon with symbols engraved on it. At the side that faced inward, there was half of a ying yang - the yang.

"Bui?" Eevee looked up at her traveling companion as she rested on Kazuko's lap.

"I'm just wondering Eevee..." Kazuko replied to the Evolution Pokemon's concern. "Everything just happened so fast. From peaceful days to this. We been traveling ever since that day... yet I still don't know anything about this thing. All I know is that my name's on it ever since I was found."

A few encouraging chirps from the Pokemon made the brunette smile and pet Eevee's head.

"Thanks Eevee," Kazuko said. "this can help me find the answers, then we'll keep searching."

She then stretched and over look Violight again. "Let's get a goodnight's sleep and prepare for tomorrow."

"Bui!"


End file.
